Wire-reel.



W. W. WESTBROOK.

WIRE REEL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24.1915.

Patented May 9, 1916.

Pm 7A 9 6 ;I 0 w A n n- Quorum WALTER W. WESTBROOK, OF MESSER, OKLAHOMA.

WIRE-REEL Application filed July 24. 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, "aurnnlV. \VEs'r- BROOK, a citizen of the United States, residing atMess-er, in the county of Choctaw and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in \Vire- Reels, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to wire reels and the object of the invention is the provision of a wire reeling device which may be supported by the shoulder of the operator and which may be manually operated to reel or unreel the wire.

' A further object of the invention is the provision of a very simple mechanism of this character provided with straps whereby it may be carried from the shoulder of the operator and which is adapted either for unreeling barbed wire or plain wire and thus may be used either by electricians or by farmers in the building of fences or in' other like situations.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my device in use; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the reeling device; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a face view of the reel; and Fig. 5 is a detail fragmentary elevation, showing the manner of connecting the base 2 to the member 25.

Referring to these drawings, 2 designates a transverse y extending base plate adapted, in the op ration of the device, to bear against the hip of the operator and having spaced therefrom the plate or member 3 supported by means of blocks 4. The member 3 is held to the base plate by means of bolts 5 or like devices. Attached to the plate 2 and extending out at right angles thereto, is the supporting bracket 6, which is provided at its outer end with a plate 7, which extends around the end of the bracket and forms one bearing for the shaft 8. This shaft also passes through an angular bracing E'lGIIlbEI 9 and also through the member Rotatably mounted upon the end of this shaft 8, is the reel 10, which has a plurality of radially directed arms 11. Gen

tainof these arms carry adjacent their ex tremities,;the outwardly pro ect1ng pins 12' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1916.

Serial No'. 41,71

held in place by nuts 13 and every alternate arm carries upon it the curved pin 14, also held 1n place by nuts. Preferably the extremity of the shaft 8 is screw-threaded and the hub of the reel is held in place upon the shaft and held from rotation independent thereof, by means of nuts 15 and 16. The opposite end of the shaft carries upon it the crank 17. whereby the shaft mav be rotated.

For the purpose of supporting the reeling device from the shoulder of the operator, I form the base plate 2 with the slots 18, through which passes a strap 19, which is adapted to pass over the shoulder of the operator and which has a buckle 20, wherebv the length of the strap may be adjusted. In order to hold the device steady and prevent any tendency of it to swing upon the 0 erator's body, I attach to the bracket a buckle 21. lvlounted upon the extremity of the base is a hinge leaf 23. having a pintle with which co-acts a hinge leaf 24 mounted upon the extremity of a bar 25. Attached to this bar 25, is a strap 26, whose extremity co-acts with the buckle 21.

For the purpose of guiding the wire as it leaves the reel, I attach to the base 2, the outwardly curved strip 27 which at its end is formed with an elongated eye 28 having a length approximately equal to the length of thepins 12 and 14. This strip projects downward and forward and guides the wire off from or on to the reel and pre vents the wire from snarling.

Attention is. called to the fact that the curved fingers 14 are rotatable so that their points may either be directed inward or directed outward, while the pins or fingers 12 extend straight outward. This permits a coil of wire to be easily slipped upon the fingers 12 and the fingers 14 then rotated, so that their points are carried outward, thus holding the wire in place upon the reel. The wire may be readily disposed upon the reel 'in the manu r described or removed therefrom and any size roll not-smaller in diameter than the distance between the fingers 12 and not larger in diameter than the length of the laterallyJ directed portions of the fingers 14 may be placed upon the reel.

The bar 25 forms a back-board which extends across the back of the operator and not only affords a, firm bearing against the operators bacjlgbut assistsin balancing the weigh f -the- It W111 be obrious that when the device is carried by th s,

operator, as shown in Fig. 1. with a co; siderahle weight of wire upon the reel the tendency will be for the base 2 to turn and act as a fulcrum and for the bars 6 and '35 to rise hile the reel is depressed. This is prevented bv the provision of the bar s and of the bar the leverage exerted bv these bars acting to resist any depression of the reel without the device being unduly clamped upon the operator. The weight of the entire device comes upon the shoulders of the operator; but the reel is counterbalanced by the bars 6 and 25 and the weight of the shaft 8. Furthermore, it is pointed out that the reel is disposed entirely on one side of the operator so that the reel may be made of any size desired without in any way coming in contact with the operator, By placing the reel on one side of the supporting frame and therefore on one side of the (JP-- orator. the operator can walk beside a fence with the wire disposed in practical alinement with the fence posts so that the Wire ma v be drawn off the reel and against the posts and thesecond workman may readily fasten the wire to the posts while it is being unreeled,

This invention is particularly designed for use in telephone work but it will be obvious that it is not limited to suchuse as it may be used by farmers in unreeling fence wire or any like situations and while I have illustrated what I believe to be the best form of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to this form, as it is obvious that various changes may be made, without departing in any way from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed, is

1. A wire reeling device comprising a base adapted to be disposed against the hip of an operator, a bar rigidly attached and extending at right angles thereto and adapted to extend across the frontof the operator, a shaft operatively suppor ed upon the bar and extending through thi )flSG and having a crank handle at one end, a reel mounted an the other end of the shaft a flexible connection extending from the end of the base to the end of the bar opposite the reel" and connectimis from the base adapted to pass over the shoulder of an opeiator,

A wire reeling di vice r nnprainjj a rigid base member ad d to rid acioss the hip the tro 'imllu 1e operation s thereto and his ed a crank ing reei shaft, a rigid member hingedly mounted upon the rear end of the base for movement in a horizontal plane. a flexible connection between the free end of ed member and first named bar. and a flexible connection extending from the base over the shoulder of an operator.

3. A wire reeling device comprising a. rigid member adapted to rest upon the hip of an operator and extend beyond the front. and rear of the operator. a front bar rigidly attached to said memher and extending at right angles thereto and adapted to be disposed against the! front of the operator, a

signature in the presence of two witnesses.

YVALTER \Y. \VESTBROUK. lVitnesses I I'IENRY W. Bum-1y. CLOZQA PRICE. 

